Jamie Roy Lost Out on a Role on Outlander, Only to Get the Lead on Blood of My Blood Instead

It’s early July when Jamie Roy—Outlander’s soon-to-be newest heartthrob—hops on a Zoom from his native Scotland, where his dog is napping behind him. He’s already a week into filming the second season of Starz’s highly anticipated prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood, and at this point has yet to experience San Diego Comic-Con, the show’s world premiere, or even the launch of the series (which, for the record, is Friday, August 8, on Starz).

Even so, Roy is ready to welcome whatever comes his way, while staying grounded in the face of so much excitement. “We were all just so ecstatic when we got the news about season two,” Roy says. “We loved what we did so much in season one, so getting to do it all over again is so lucky, so fortunate.”

Viewers will finally get to see “what we did” when Outlander: Blood of My Blood, the prequel to the epic love story of Jamie and Claire Fraser, premieres in less than 24 hours. In the series, based on characters created by best-selling author Diana Gabaldon, the love connection between Jamie’s parents, Brian Fraser (Roy) and Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater), which takes place 20 years prior to the start of Outlander, will be explored.

“I think it’s really important to know where Brian comes from,” Roy says. “He’s living with his father, who’s very abusive. He’s been shunned by most of his clan because of his misdeeds, so they kind of lived in isolation. And this is all Brian’s really known growing up.”

But when viewers get their first glimpse of Roy’s Brian, he’s content with his situation and at peace with the fact that this is his life. “He is the bastard son of this horrible man, and nothing’s going to change that,” he says. “He can either wallow in that, knowing that he doesn’t have all the opportunities that a firstborn son would normally have, or he could just be like, Okay, cool, this is my life, and now I have to get on with it.”

That is, until he meets Ellen MacKenzie and everything changes. “Obviously, that’s when he realizes, This is actually something that I want. But to get this thing I want, I have to go through this massive journey of rival plans.… So, he takes on this whole new challenge. When we first see him in episode one, that’s the only time that we’ll see him when he’s still a little boy, I would say. And then, he goes into this journey of really becoming a man.”

Roy’s own journey to Outlander fandom is just as fascinating. From Scotland to Miami to Los Angeles, Roy can’t believe where his career has taken him. “This whole experience from when I first started acting to now, living just 10 minutes away from where I grew up.… It’s crazy how life works out like that,” he says.

So, who is Jamie Roy, and what is his particular path to the Outlander universe? From hair stories to Disney World, nothing is off-limits as he opens up about his resemblance to Sam Heughan, previous Outlander auditions, and why his costars call him Daddy. Read on.

Glamour: Let’s start with your gorgeous hair. Did you grow it out for the audition? Tell me everything.

Jamie Roy: It’s funny, I’ve never had long hair in my life. I’ve always had it short. When I got this [audition] though, I think it was still quite short, but I thought I should probably start growing it to some degree. I just let it grow, and when I got the role, one of the first things [executive producer] Matt Roberts said to me on the phone was, “Don’t get your hair cut. Let it grow. Let’s see what happens.” I was the first one to get cast, so I found out in April 2023, which was five days before my 30th birthday. So, a nice birthday present.

A nice birthday present, indeed!

But then we were delayed in filming because of the strikes, so I had a long time to grow out. As you see on this Zoom, my hair band is my best pal. It’s my first ever headband I’ve ever had. It’s still going strong. I actually despise having my hair so long, because the fringe comes down past my eyes. I don’t know how you women do it because it’s so frustrating.

I appreciate a man who understands.

Yeah, but I’ve now got it long enough that it’s all settled down. I’ve seen online that people have said, “He’s got a wig on,” or “He dyed his hair.” There are all these fan theories about it, which gives me a chuckle. But no, it’s one hundred percent me.

What a hair journey you’ve been on.

It’s been its own journey. I think it should have its own Instagram page at this point.

It really should. Did you ever talk to Sam Heughan about his hair journey for Outlander?

I know after three or four seasons, I think, he went with a wig because after a while it does weigh down on you. For girls, you can style all different ways. I feel like for guys, there’s not really much I can do with it. So, when I’m going out and about, I either have a cap on or a headband and that’s it. I think it’ll be here to stay for a couple more seasons at least, and then we’ll see what happens.

Listen, you’re getting paid for it, so that’s good. Did you watch Outlander prior to getting cast in Blood of My Blood?

I started watching it when I started auditioning. I did probably about five auditions or so, and I think after two auditions, Suzanne, the casting director, asked if I was watching. I said, “Yeah, I’m really into it.” And she’s like, “Stop watching it.” I asked why, and it was because she wanted me to do my own thing and not try and do a copy of what Sam was doing. Not that I was, but she didn’t want anything to be influenced because she really liked what I was doing originally.

When I got the job, I started to watch all the seasons through again. I think I’d got up to season two at that point. I think I hold the trophy for the first cast member to finish all seven seasons. Me and Harriet are the only two who have watched it all, but I finished it first. So, yeah, you could call me a fan.

When you were watching it originally for the first time, did you see the resemblance between you and Sam Heughan?

I can’t say that I did, honestly. It’s like when someone says, “Hey, you really look like that person,” and you’re always the person to be like, “No, I don’t know what you’re seeing.” Because everybody sees you a certain way, and you see yourself a certain way. I kept getting people saying, “You and Sam look so similar. You act the same, just in personalities and all this stuff.” And for the longest time, I didn’t see it.

I can’t remember when it actually clicked. Maybe it was when we met for the first time, and then I was like, “Wait, I think I understand what everybody’s been saying up to this point.” I actually did start rewatching season one recently and thought, I can see what people mean now. But for the longest time, I didn’t. It’s definitely not a bad compliment to get, for sure.

Had you ever gone in for an audition for Outlander during the run of the show?

I did, actually. This was my third audition for the team. My first audition was a couple of years before that. It was for a role called Militia Man number one, which is great [laughs]. Doesn’t even have a name. I was actually pinned for that role, and then I later found out that they dropped the role but would keep me in mind. The second role I auditioned for one was in season seven, as Roger MacKenzie’s son in one of the episodes when he goes back. Didn’t get that one, though. And then, this one came for Brian. I didn’t know this at the time, but after I went through all the process for Blood of My Blood, I went out for dinner with [EP] Maril Davis and [Starz executive vice president of original programming] Karen Bailey, and Karen told me that she had seen my tape for Militia Man number one, and they wanted to give me that role, but she jumped on the phone being like, “Hey, this guy looks a lot like Sam. Should we keep him for Blood of My Blood later on?”

At this point, it wasn’t even greenlit or anything, but it was in the works. They both made the decision, “Okay. Let’s keep him for that.” I had no idea. I thought that I was going to get this role, I was pinned for it, and then didn’t get it and was heartbroken. It just shows you that you never know what’s happening behind closed doors and what fate has in store for you. It all worked out as it was meant to, I suppose.

Let’s talk about how you got into acting in the first place. What were your interests growing up?

I was born in a little town called Greenock, which is in the west coast of Scotland. It’s probably like 45 minutes or so from Glasgow. My dad’s side of the family were all raised over there. I lived there for about three months, and then my mom moved to Lenzie, which is a small town just outside Glasgow. Then I moved to the west end of Glasgow, so I say I was born in Greenock and raised in Glasgow. I never acted when I was younger or anything like that. I was a clever cookie, as they might say, academically-wise. I always thought I would do something business-related or accounting or something.

And so, I went to business school in Glasgow at Strathclyde University and got my degree in business. I graduated, and then worked a desk job for three months, but I realized I couldn’t stand it. It was the worst three months of my life. At the same time, I had this idea that I might want to try acting. So I was working this 9-to-5 job during the day, and then at night I would take acting classes afterwards in this little place called Devon. The following year I got the chance to move to the States.

Wow, what for?

It was really cool, because I remember thinking I came to this crossroads in my life where I had this job set up in America with a big firm. I was going to make more money than I’d had before. All these really enticing things. And then, I said to myself, How often in life do you get the chance to restart your life? I really wanted to try this acting thing out, so I said to my parents, “I’m going to turn this job down and try doing this acting thing.” They were both very supportive, actually. They said, “Okay, if it makes you happy. You’ve got your degree. If it doesn’t work out, then you can always lean on that.” So in 2016, I went to Miami, started training there for a couple of months, and that’s when I realized that’s what I wanted to do.

How long did it take for you to get an agent or manager?

It definitely was a while. I felt like an outsider for the longest time and still do to an extent, because I didn’t go to drama school. I wasn’t formally trained. My only training has been through some really fantastic acting classes and life. And then, obviously, on the job. I lived in Florida for three years. I got a job at theme parks. I worked at Disney onstage for a few years. That was great training.

Who did you play at Disney?

Well, you don’t say “play,” but I was friends with Kristoff from Frozen for three years at Disney. That was some of the best training, because it was in this massive stage in front of 1,000 people a show. I was just so out of my comfort zone, but I said, “This was what I wanted to do. I’m going to do it.” I did that for three years, amongst some other shows down there. Then I moved to LA in 2019 and had nine months of normalcy before the world stopped due to COVID. But that’s when I started thinking, I might be good at this—I might have a career in it.

After things opened up from the pandemic in 2020, I got a couple of films back to back. From there on, I was just building up some credits and experience.

What a culture shock to go from Scotland to Miami to Los Angeles.

Definitely. It was a journey, but it’s been so much fun, this whole experience from when I first started acting to now living just 10 minutes away from where I grew up. It’s crazy how life works out like that.

What do you miss most about living in the States, and what did you miss most about living in Scotland when you were in America?

Currently, I’m missing the reliable LA sunshine. When I was in America, I really missed the Scottish food. Scotland has its own food culture, especially Glasgow nowadays. There’s so many lovely places to go for food and drink in the city now, so I just missed some really good fish ’n’ chips or haggis and Irn-Bru [a Scottish carbonated drink]. That’s my liquid gold.

I read you’re an American citizen now too. Is that correct?

That is correct. I lived there for the better part of eight years. After six years of being there, I got my American citizenship, which makes traveling into the country so much easier.

I’m sure. You mentioned you got the role of Brian MacKenzie around the time of your 30th birthday. What did you do to celebrate?

When I got the call, I was actually on the golf course, about to tee off. I said to my agent, “Oh my God, this is amazing, but my tee time is now so I have to go. Bye!” I hung up on her and ran to the first tee [laughs]. The two guys I was playing with were like, “Jamie, you all right?” Because I was shaking, I was like, “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine.” My first tee went just huge.… a massive hook into the bunker. It was horrendous because I was shaking the entire time.

I then decided to let the news sink in while I played one hole, which is about 15 minutes. I had that time just for me, but then I called my parents, and they were the first to know. Then I called my partner and stuff. That was cool. So, to celebrate, I played golf.

Amazing.

For my 30th, which I’d already organized, I went camping in Lake Arrowhead with a whole bunch of friends. None of them knew about the role. They all knew I was auditioning for it and that I was far down the line, but none of them knew I got it. They kept asking me, but I was sworn to secrecy, so I couldn’t tell them. But it was very peaceful, just knowing that it was all meant to be. I was surrounded by my best friends, who I loved. Even though they didn’t know, I feel like part of them also knew.

So, if I asked you what your perfect day would be, does it involve golf?

[Laughs] So, I get up relatively early because I have a doggy. He’s a German-shepherd-and-rottweiler mix. He needs a lot of exercise, so we’ll walk him between two, two and a half miles a day. Then I’ll go to the gym because lifting weights has always been something that’s been quite integral to any routine that I’ve had. It’s a form of therapy, I think. After I’ve done weights, it’s straight to the golf course. That’s my place where I find my zen and relax. If I’m not golfing, I’m climbing mountains and hiking and things with my dog and my friends. And at nighttime, nothing’s better than sitting with a whisky or a glass of wine and watching a good film. Now that I’ve just said all of that out loud, I kind of want to do that tomorrow.

Do it! What would your superlative be on set? What are you most known for?

We have this joke between the four main cast—and to an extent, some of the others—where they call me Daddy. Like, I’m the daddy of the group because I’m the sensible one. I’m the most likely to keep people on time. Whenever we’re going to the States, I’m always the one rounding everyone up, making sure we get to the flights, away from the bar, on time, you name it. Daddy was the nickname that they all gave me, for better or worse. We’ll see if that really sticks. But the other three are quite determined.

Since you like to drink, did Sam give you any of his Sassenach whisky?

I have a couple of bottles just over there for the rainy day.

Aside from enjoying a nice glass of whisky, what other advice did he impart on you?

Just to appreciate every single day and really enjoy it because it does pass quickly. It reminds me to take pictures. It reminds me to write in my journal about things. It reminds me when I’m having maybe not such a good day on set, to be like, Hey, look at where you are, look at what you’re doing. I really do come back to that quite often.

And finally, now that I know you worked at Disney World Resort, what is your favorite Disney movie?

It’s a classic. Hercules. I was obsessed with Hercules when I was a kid, and I think that’s why I love the gym as well. In my head, when I was a kid, all men have to be as strong as Hercules. I watched that film countless times. I can watch to this day and still enjoy it just as much.